BY JOHN JORDAN, Staff Reporter

Central Washington University is one of the few universities or public colleges in the country that has recognized men and women’s varsity as a varsity sport in its athletic program.

Some believe this will bring positive outcomes to Central. Central’s Athletic director, Dennis Francois, is a believer.

“Any time we can provide opportunity for students to compete at the intercollegiate level is a great thing,” Francois said. “I think it was a great decision to bring in both programs at the same time.”

Francois talked about the competitiveness he believes the women’s team has; he thinks that will take them far.

The Central men’s rugby team is known as one of the best in the country, and the women’s rugby team is expected to really excel in the coming years.

“With the support we are providing our women’s program, we will soon get to the same level as the men’s side,” Francois said.

The Central men’s rugby team is nationally ranked and well known.

Central men’s rugby coach Tony Pacheco is eager for the women’s program to take off. “It’s exciting to have a great impact on our current student athletes,” Pacheco said.

With the Central rugby team being as good as it is, it can be expected that people will notice. The team is already drawing interest from past victories.

“We are going to draw interest from parts of the country that we haven’t before,” Pacheco said.

Central’s women’s team was made varsity at the same time as the men’s. This will require Central to find a full-time coach for the program.

“We are excited to find our women’s coach and start building that program with a lot of the hard work similar to what we did with the men’s team.”

Coach Pacheco said he expects to see a positive change for the women’s team in the near future.

“I expect them to be on par with what the men have been doing and what they continue to do,” Pacheco said.